Beyond the Mat

As visitors walk into the Mount Carmel Area locker room, they are greeted by a strangely different atmosphere. The quite disgusting smell of sweaty feet and victory. A large black and white painting grabs visitors attention as they walk through the aisle of lockers. That championship painting reads,"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." Around halfway down the aisles you see a bright light and a very familiar face here at MCA. Coach Steven Pesarchik always has a smile on his face glistening from ear to ear as he waits for you to shake his hand before engaging in conversation. Then you hear the iconic,"How's it going?" The minuscule man may not look like much at first glance, but he didn't get the nickname "Mini Missile" for nothing. He only stands at about 5'0" with brown eyes and a shaved head, but looks can always be deceiving.

"Seeing Coach Pesarchik isn't a very rare situation around here," says Greg Sacavage, our Athletic Director here at MCA. "You can see him anywhere from the gym, to the wrestling room, or even here at the athletic office. Heck, I've even seen him all the way in Shop Class!" Coach Pesarchik is just a wonderful and friendly personality to have here on campus, and I'm sure that most of the faculty and students here can agree. Pesarchik has been coaching at MCA for about 10 years now and he doesn't think he's ever going to give it up. "Not until the school board has to carry me out of here," he says. His favorite part of wrestling is, "The fact that it's a one-on-one sport. No sorry excuses. No blaming anybody else for your mistakes. Just you and him."

After meeting with Pesarchik, you exit the locker room and continue down the hallway. As you inch closer and closer past some classrooms, near the end of the hallway, you begin to hear whistles blowing, bodies hitting the floor, and the occasional grunt as well. Now, this forbidden place may be intimidating to just an average Joe, but Pesarchik thrives in this room. The second he walks through that door, that lovely little man turns into your worst nightmare.

"On the line," says Pesarchik. "We're going to do some conditioning today."
Sophomore Shane Gudonis says, "This is dumb. We run every single day."
Without hesitation, Pesarchik points to the door and says absolutely nothing. Everyone in the room, including Gudonis, knows what he means.
This time, without any back-talk, Gudonis replies, "yes sir."

Once you step into the gym, it's a whole different story. Red and white banners from previous district champions, state champions, and the all mighty 100-Win Club completely cover the walls. Fellow previous coaches have their names set in stone on this banner but Steve Pesarchik's definitely stands out the most, carrying a whopping 112 high school wins. It's not just Pesarchik's charm or his athletic ability that causes people to fall in love with him. It's his work ethic, which he's had ever since he was a little boy that got him this far in life and will likely also carry him through many more years as a coach.